They may have to. Because on the eve of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the New York Rangers, it seems there are fewer and fewer people on the outside looking in who believe, even if the players themselves do.

To be fair, you really do want to buy into Alexander Ovechkin’s words when he stood in front of reporters on Tuesday and said with conviction: “We can’t wait for it to start. We want the Cup.”

Then again, they wanted the Cup in 2008. And ’09. And ’10, too.

On each occasion, they came up small. Very small. In fact, in the three previous playoff years that have featured the Ovechkin-Boudreau combination, the Caps have won just one series, that coming in seven nailbiting games over these same Rangers two years ago.

Of all those shortcomings, none gnawed more at the collective guts of the Capitals than being thwarted by the Montreal Canadiens 12 months ago, a first-round elimination that could very much be credited to the heroics of Habs goalie Jaroslav Halak.

This time around, when the puck drops on the series at the Verizon Center on Wednesday night, the Capitals will be facing former Olympic gold medallist Henrik Lundqvist, a goalie most hockey people would rank higher than Halak.

Uh oh. Hardly the foundation for optimism, is it?

Nor is the fact that the Rangers won three of their four meetings with the Caps this season, including a 7-0 drubbing of Washington on Dec. 12 and a 6-0 humiliation of Boudreau’s boys on Feb. 25, two wins that helped balloon Lundqvist’s shutout totals.

Nor is the fact, for that matter, that Ovechkin had his poorest point production as an NHLer with 32 goals and 53 assists for 85 points.

Add those ingredients together, and it is easy to see why there are whispers around the hockey world that the Caps have become the San Jose Sharks of the East, an underachieving bunch led by a coach who might not survive the axe of management if another early playoff exit comes to fruition.

Don’t count these Caps out so fast, however.

For one thing, Ovechkin is well rested, having been removed from the lineup and given time to heal last month. And his career playoff numbers — 20 goals, 20 assists in 28 post-season contests — indicate he does not shrivel up when the post-season spotlight lands on him.

At the same time, Boudreau realizes that, despite The Great Eight’s previous playoff heroics, the team’s former run-and-gun style simply wasn’t working come playoff time. So, in what could be described as either a shrewd move or an act of desperation (knowing Boudreau, we’ll go with the former), the personable coach switched to a defence-first blue print that allowed the Caps to finish first in the Eastern Conference.

Yes, they were also the best in the East a year ago. But this is a different team with a different system and some different players, including playoff-savvy vets Jason Arnott and Marco Sturm.

“Right now, it is a mature team,” Ovechkin said. “We have the experience from the past couple of years. It has been hard for us, but I think everybody’s ready and everybody can’t wait. We want to keep going.”

Even if it means having his personal numbers take a hit in order to concentrate on his defensive zone responsibilities?

“If it is good for the team I will do it. If Bruce tell me to do this, I’m going to do it,” Ovechkin said. “He’s my coach and I’m going to listen to him no matter what.”

The proof, Ovechkin said, can be found in the team stats, which show the Caps finished fourth in the league in the least goals allowed. More importantly, Boudreau’s shift in philosophy resulted in more wins, which is the key.

“We know we were in a slump (early on) but after (the change in style) we’ve been coming back and we’re in first place again,” he said. “Regular year and playoffs are two different seasons, so right now it is a new season.”

With question marks looming over the health of his arch-rival Sidney Crosby, the door is open for The Great Eight to shine. More importantly, it is his opportunity to lead his team to a championship, something Crosby has done with the 2009 Cup-winning Pittsburgh Penguins and 2010 Olympic gold medallists from Canada.

Now it’s Ovechkin’s turn.

“I think it is time to show our best,” he added. “It doesn’t matter power play, PK or full strength. You have to play your best and right now it is time.”

Time for Alex Ovechkin and Bruce Boudreau, after all the talk, to finally walk the post-season walk.